Paperboard packaging container



Nov. 12, 1963 F. R. LINDA ETAL 3,110,434

PAPERBOARD PACKAGING CONTAINER Filed Aug. 24, 1961 3 Sheets-sheet 3INVENTORS Mum/w 6TM 004/44 0 A M O 3,l ld id i Patented Nov. 12, 1%633,110,434 PAPERBOARD PACKAGENG CONTAINER Frank Raymond Linda, Norwallr,Conn, and William S.

McDonald, Georgetown, S.C., assignors to International Paper Company,New York, NFL, a corporation of New York Filed Aug. 24, 1961, Ser. No.133,5fi2 1 Claim. cl. 2 2e s7 This invention relates to paperboardpackaging containers. More particularly, it relates to a lightweightsingle ply container so constructed that a substantial part of its topcan be removed to permit access to its contents, leaving an attractivetraylike structure for holding and displaying the contents.

This application is a continuation-in-part of copending applicationsSerial No. 819,259 filed June 10, 1959, and Serial No. 16,586, filedMarch 21, 1960, both now abandoned.

In modern supermarkets, it is commonplace to mark the price on articlesto be sold and then to store them before placing them on displayshelves. However, it is often necessary to open the containers in whichthe articles arrive to reach the articles to be marked either by tearingoil. their tops or by ripping them apart. This operation may completelydestroy such containers and render them useless for further storage ofthe contents or, at the least, unattractive in appearance for displaypurposes. This applies particularly with respect to lightweight shippingcontainers.

Even when the top of the shipping container may be conveniently openedor ripped off without entirely destroying it, as in the case of a heavycorrugated paperboard box, the articles are often packed in such a waythat they have to be removed to be price-marked then returned to thecontainer for further storage and/ or display. Such operations are timeconsuming and, therefore, expensive. They are also unsatisfactory,because many containers do not readily lend themselves to re-packing byhand.

It is, therefore, desirable and an object of the present invention toprovide a container which has a top closure which is readily removable,leaving an attractive open container, and which can be readily shapedand packed in the first instance, so that the contents are exposed forprice-marking and consumer inspection when it is opened by the removalof the top closure.

Paperboard containers are not always as rugged as corrugated containersand do not always stand up as well against abuses of packing andhandling. If, for instance, a paperboard container is not tightlypacked, whether with cartons, tubes, or cans, rectangular, cylindrical,or otherwise, the movement of such cartons, tubes or cans relative tothe container places undue stress upon it, particularly along the foldlines of the blank from which the container is fashioned. On the otherhand, if a paperboard container is tightly packed with cartons, tubes orcans, the corners of such cartons, the edges of such tubes, or thechimes of such cans which constantly impinge against portions of thecontainer and tend to cut into such portions, particularly duringshipping and handling. And, when such portions are the majorlongitudinal and transverse fold lines of the blank from which thecontainer is formed, the possibility that the container will be rupturedand its usefulness reduced or destroyed is greatly increased.

Hence, it is also an object of the present invention to affordcontainers having greater strength against or resistance to poor packingand mishandling. it is a further object to provide blanks made of sheetmaterial, particularly single ply material, and containers made from theblanks with reinforcement against and resistance to tearing andrupturing which results from poor packing and mishandling and othercauses. It is still another object of the invention to providereinforcing means, at least along the major fold lines of blanks,particularly single ply material blanks, for paperboard containers andfor the paperboard containers produced therefrom.

Accordingly, the invention comprehends a container having a readilyremovable top closure, the removal of which does not destroy the utilityor the appearance of such container, and having the capacity to bepacked with items (smaller cartons, tubes, cans or the like) beforeshipment in a manner which permits eflicient pricemarking and storingand attractive displaying of the items upon removal of the top closure,but without removal of the items from the container body and a one-pieceblank for such container made from a sheet material, such as paperboard,and having, preferably, reinforcing means along its longitudinal andtransverse fold lines which afford the container heightened strength inthose of its areas most subject to stress and strain. Such reinforcingmeans are, preferably, in the form of stripes centered over andextending a short distance beyond each side of the blanks longitudinaland transverse fold lines and such stripes are, preferably, constitutedof natural rubber latexes, water-based emulsions, synthetic resins, orelastomers. By synthetic resins is meant olefinic resins such aspolyethylene, nylons, vinyls, and copolyrners of vinyls.

For a better understanding of the invention reference should be had tothe drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank from which a container is made inaccordance with the present invention;

PEG. 2 is a perspective view of the container of FIG. 1, bottom up,showing initial stages of folding;

FiGS. 3 and 4 are fragmentary perspective views of the container of FIG.1 showing further stages of folding;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a blank showing a modification of the containerof FlG. 1;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are fragmentary views of further modifications of thecontainer of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 8 and 9 are perspective views showing the container of FIG. 1,right side up, before and after opening; and

HG. 10 is a fragmentary perspective View taken along the lines ofperforation as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5.

Container 13 seen in FIG. 8 is formed from a onepiece blank in (H6. 1)preferably of single ply, 47 pound kraft liner board. It can beconstructed, however, from heavier or lighter weight boards, dependingon. the requirements of the container. The blank i=9 has longitudinalfold lines 539 and transverse fold lines 5 0 which generally define andhingedly connect body parts including a top panel 2, side wall panels 6and 8 and bottom panels 12a, 12b and end parts including outer flaps 62and flap sections 62a, 62b, inner flaps 22 and intermediate flaps 32.Slits 82 extend inwardly from the edges 62:: of the outer flaps 62 andflap sections 62a, 62b, and diagonal fold lines 94 connect the innerends of the slits 81: to intersections of the fold lines 5t) and 9%,further defining the intermediate flaps 32.. Means are provided to formspaced lines of weakness for the purpose further described, preferablyin the form of lines of slits 5S and 6*.) extending from and connectinga pair of semi-circular slits 74 to a pair of arcuate slits 75 formed inthe top panel 2. The semiircular slits 74 are connected to a pair ofspaced lines of perforations 76 and the arcuate slits 75 are connectedto a fold line '79. The semi-circular slits define a tab 78 at each endof the tear strip 77 defined by the lines of perforations 76. V-shapedslits 73 having their apexes on the lines of slits 55 and 50 areconnected at their apexes to the ends of the slits that are furthestremoved from the fold line 79.

Means are provided to reinforce the container for the purpose furtherdescribed, preferably in the form of reinforcing stripes 7%approximately one-half inch to two inches in width centered over boththe longitudinal and transverse fold lines 50 and 90 or over thelongitudinal fold lines only or over the transverse fold lines only.

To erect the container of the present invention, the parts are foldedalong the fold lines 50 so that the side wall panels 6 and 8 areperpendicular to the top panel 2 and the bottom panels 12a and 12b asseen in FIG. 2. The bottom panel 12b and the flap sections 62b partiallyoverlap the bottom panel 12a and the flap sections 62a and the parts aresecured together by glue applied to one of the abutting surfaces therebyforming a completed bottom panel 4 with outer flaps 62. at its ends sothat the structure of FIG. 2 is a four-sided tube or sleeve which isopen at both ends.

The container is particularly well adapted for automatic end loading. Inother words, the tube is first formed as shown in FIG. 2 and then thecontents are inserted generally substantially en masse or according to apredetermined pattern or order from one or both of the open ends. It maybe preferable in some applications to close one of the ends and then toload the container from the open end. Therefore, one of the ends may beclosed before loading and the other after loading, or the tube may firstbe loaded and both ends closed simultaneously thereafter. In eitherevent, the end closing operation for both ends is substantiallyidentical. In

closing the ends, the inner flaps 22 are folded perpendicular to theside walls 6 and 8 as seen in FIG. 3. This folds the intermediate flaps32 along the diagonal fold lines 94- and over parts of the outer flaps62. The outer flaps 62 at the ends of the top panel 2 and associatedparts are now folded over the outer flaps 62 formed of the sections 62a,62b at the ends of the bottom panel 4 so that they are perpendicular tothe body panels 2, 4, 6 and 8. Abutting surfaces of the end parts aresecured in place by glue applied prior to or during formation of thecontainer.

Having thus completed the formation of the container shown in FIG. 8 andgenerally designated 13, the lines 'of slits 58 and 6t provide lines ofcomparative weakness along which the top panel 2 may be torn to remove apanel 9. To accomplish this, either of the tabs 78 is grasped and pulledupwardly as shown in FIG. 8. Continued pulling starts tears along thelines of perforations 76 which is continued until the tear strip 77 iscompletely removed from the top panel 2. To insure the easy removal ofthe tear strip 77, the lines of perforations 76 are formed in themachine direction of the paper and a pair of continuous slits 81 areformed in the underside of the top panel 2 directly underlying the lineof perforations. The direction in which the paper tears most easily andin straight lines is the machine direction; that is, the direction ofthe paper parallel to its forward movement on the paper machine.Therefore, by forming the lines of perforations in this direction, thetear strip 77 is more easily torn from the top panel 2. As shown in FIG.11, the slits 81 are cut approximately half way through the paper. Forexample, if the container is constructed from single ply 62 pound kraftliner board having a thickness of approximately .017 of an inch, a slitdepth of .003 of an inch has proven effective. These slits furtherincrease the ease with which the top panel is torn along the lines ofperforations.

After the tear strip 77 has been removed, the container may be opened toexpose or remove its contents by inserting the fingers beneath the panel9 and pulling upwardly. Continued pulling starts tears in the top panel12 along the lines of slits 58 and 60 which can be continued to thearcuate slits 75 that are connected to the fold line 79, resulting inthe structure of FIG. 9. It is important to note that the portions ofthe top panel that remain inta t form a deck 92 that completelysurrounds 4 the opening. The result is an open tote tray 15 or atraylike structure which is well adapted to contain its originalcontents for storage, movement from storage to display area and fordisplay. The contents are readily exposed for price marking arid storageor display thereafter.

The opening in the top panel is of sufiicient size to permit readyaccess to the contents of the container and at the same time theportions of the top panel that remain intact considerably strengthen thetop panel and hold it in proper shape, thereby making the containerstronger and more rigid. For this reason, when the top panel is torn toremove the panel 9, it is important that the tears follow the lines ofslits 58 and 60 and extend only to the fold line 79 so that the deck 92remains intact. This latter objective is accomplished by the use ofV-shaped slits 73 and the arcuate slits 75 or the like on the basis ofthe following considerations:

The lines of slits 58 and 60 are formed in the cross machine directionof the paper. This direction offers the greater resistance to tearingand the paper tears in ragged edges. Therefore, to insure that the toppanel is torn only along the lines of slits, tear guide means in theform of V-shaped guide slits 73 are formed along the lines of slits withtheir apexes connected to the ends of the slits. The apexes of theseguide slits point in the direction of tear or toward the fold line 79and, as the top panel is torn, these guide slits 73 channel irregulartears and guide them along the lines of slits.

Further, it was found that if the lines of slits were connected directlyto the fold line 79 that the person opening the container, often ingreat haste as in supermarkets, would continue the tears past the foldline for the full length of the top panel unless due care was exercised.This resulted in the destruction of the deck 92. Therefore, to insurethat the tears extend only to the fold line, tear stop means areprovided in the form of arcuate slits 75 connected to the fold line 79and to the lines of slits 58 and 60. These arcuate slits ease the tearsaround corners to the fold line 79 and further tearing will only resultby redirecting the tearing force from its original direction to la.direction along the fold line. The fold line thus serves as a hinge forthe panel 9 which may be left attached for use as a temporary cover andthen later entirely removed by tearing along the fold line.

Modifications of the container of the present inventions are shown inFIGS. 5, 6 and 7. The modified container is identical to the container13 of FIG. 8, except that means have been provided to reinforce thecontainer.

Without provision of means to reinforce the container, the sharp cornersof cartons, edges of tubes, and chimes of cans would tend to cut throughthe single ply container where they contact it at or in the proximity ofthe fold lines. Reinforcing means in the form of stripes 70 of materialapplied to the container blank surface have proven highly effective ineliminating this problem. Among the most effective and preferredreinforcing stripes are those of the synthetic resins and the vinyls,because of their inherent toughness and puncture resistance. And even ifby chance a can chime does cut into the container at or near a foldline, further tearing is impeded by the material of stripe.

What is claimed is:

A container formed from a one-piece blank of sheet material, thecontainer comprising body parts including a top panel having spacedapart longitudinal and transverse fold lines of weakness andsemi-circular slits therebetween, side Wall panels, and bottom panelsand end parts including inner flaps, outer flaps, and flap sections, andintermediate flaps substantially defined on the blank by means oflongitudinal and transverse fold lines having reinforcing meansthereal'ong, the outer flaps and flap sections having slits extendinginwardly from their edges and diagonal fold lines connecting the innerends of the References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATESPATENTS slits with intersections of the longitudinal and transverse foldlines to define the intermediate flaps further.

5 WeHm-an Mar. 2, 1937 Noah et a1. Feb. 23, 1943 Clark May 22, 1945 6Hickin Jan. 20, 1953 'Guyer Dec. 16, 1958 Cuffey Jan. 3, 1961 SparksMar. 21, 1961 Stone Oct. 17, 1961 Nelson Feb. 6, 1962 Asman May 29, 1962Petryk Feb. 5, 1963

